Stuffed Loin Chops

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My favorite cut of pork is the loin. It can be roasted, grilled, pan fried, braised or cooked just about anyway and it provides a canvass that works well with different flavors from fresh herbs, to marinades and spice rubs, even fruits. Recently, as I scanned the meat counter at the local grocery store, two enormous boneless loin chops jumped out at me and I knew they were destined to fill my belly.

They were cut extra thick, at least an inch, making them perfect to stuff with a special surprise. A normal or 3/4-inch cut loin chop isn’t thick enough to hold much when stuffed, but thicker cuts, like the chops features here are perfect. They can hold enough stuffing for it to be a major element.

I chose fresh sage with Swiss cheese wrapped in a thin slice of smoked ham for the stuffing. The ham would add a smoky element and make for a nice wrapper for the other ingredients.

All of these elements together added up to a tasty main course. I seared a nice crust on the outside in a cast iron skillet then finished them in the oven – which is a fun way to prepare chops, especially for a foodie like myself.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Stuffed Loin Chops

I tried something new with the presentation of this recipe. There are only 4 ingredients, but there are a number of steps in the preparation to get to the final product. With an emphasis on preparation, I decided to shoot the entire recipe at a 3/4 infinity view on a white back ground.

This is probably the only time I’ve ever presented an entire information graphic recipe without any birds-eye view shots. I think the technique will take some refining on my part but overall I like the look of this post. The repeated angle of the different elements combined with the slight overlap of each step seems to create a cascading feel in the presentation. I think I should explore this type of documentation again when it presents itself in the future.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Stuffed Loin Chops

Serves 2; 30 minutes
2 slices Smoked ham
2 sticks Swiss cheese
2 leaves Fresh sage
2 Loin chops, thick cut, boneless

Prepare chop
Place stick of cheese and sage leaf on the edge of a slice of ham. Roll into a cylinder. With a sharp skinny knife make an incision into the middle of pork chop big enough to insert ham and cheese roll. Completely insert roll into chop. Repeat.

Cook chops
Preheat oven to 400°
Season chops with salt and pepper to taste. In a cast iron or oven-safe skillet, sear chops on both sides  over high heat in a little olive oil for at least 2 minutes per side to form a crust. Remove from stove and place in oven, bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until chops are cooked through. Remove and rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Sausage, Sage and Green Pepper Dressing

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For the last few Thanksgivings I’ve made dressing separately, rather than stuffing which is cooked inside the bird. I usually brine my turkey and the last time I made stuffing inside, it was edible, but the overload of salt from the brine was obvious and it really ruined the flavor. Since that disaster I have always kept it separate.

This recipe was the best dressing I have ever made, the sausage, green pepper and fresh sage combine to take the flavors off the charts. I used a loaf of french bread that I cubed and put in the oven at 200° for about 2 hours. This dried the bread out and replicated the results of leaving the bread out in the open for a couple of days.

This was a great dish and sadly, it's the final post from my Thanksgiving feast of 2013. I’m already looking forward to next year.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Sausage, Sage and Green Pepper Dressing

I’m so glad this dish turned out. The biggest disappointment of last year's Thanksgiving feast was my dressing. I didn’t have dry enough bread and I didn’t use enough chicken broth to get everything to congeal together. It was more like soggy bread with mirepoix vegetables, so it was important to me this year to have a tasty dressing.

This is also my favorite infographic recipe of all the Thanksgiving 2013 dishes.

The red dish featuring the finished dressing at the bottom was a clearance item at Pier 1 Imports and it really helps this recipe stand out from the rest. When I mixed everything in the bowl I thought there was no way it would fit into the vessel, by like the sweet corn casserole, all of it fit and the rest is history.

Now it’s on to Christmas cooking!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Sausage, Sage and Green Pepper Dressing

Serves 12 to 15; 50 minutes
1 lb Breakfast sausage
1 C Onion diced
1 C Celery diced
1 C Green pepper, diced
1 Tbs Garlic, minced
6 C Stale bread cubed
3 C Chicken broth
1 Tbs Italian seasoning

Brown sausage, sauté veggies
Preheat oven to 375°
In a sauté pan over medium heat cook sausage until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from pan to a large bowl. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of drippings. Cook onion, celery and green pepper until soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Add garlic cook two minutes more. Transfer to large bowl with sausage.

Make dressing
Add dried bread, chicken broth and Italian seasonings to bowl. Mix until well incorporated and bread has soaked up broth. Transfer to a prepared 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until top becomes brown and with crispy bits. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

Herb-Garlic Tortilla Chips and Fresh Guacamole

My favorite kind of tortilla chips are what is usually found at Mexican restaurants. They are made from corn or flour tortillas that are deep fried, seasoned according to the chef’s tastes and usually served with a salsa made at the establishment. It is the perfect start to any meal.

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The first party I ever catered, I started the meal with my own tortilla chips and fresh salsa. The chips alone received the most compliments. I think they were memorable because it stood out from the ordinary tortilla chip found anywhere from grocery stores to vending machines. The chip gave the entire meal a gourmet feel.

For this recipe, I make homemade tortilla chips and fresh guacamole. I start by infusing oil with fresh herbs and garlic, which imparts a unique and aromatic flavor into the corn tortilla chip when fried. I then season it with salt and fresh grated parmesan cheese. The unexpected flavor from the chip makes this snack impossible to stop eating – Not to mention, the tasty and fresh guacamole that goes with it.

BEHIND THIS BITE
I have had this recipe for a long time. I started writing my column a year-and-a-half ago and I usually challenge myself to create something new each week. It makes the job easy to use a treat I had created long ago. I saw the flavored-oil technique on the Food Network's Tyler's Ultimate, I think he used it for fish and chips. Somewhere a long the line I thought it would be a good way to flavor tortilla chips.

I have made these chips a number of times and I have never had leftovers.

The guacamole is something I picked up at a cooking class taught be Sue Torres, chef and owner of Suenos in New York City. It was the first cooking class I had ever taken and it was a ton of fun. I learned a lot about making fresh salsa as well as the guacamole. I highly recommend taking classes or attending demonstrations regardless of experience, there is always something more to learn.

My family requests the guacamole more than any other dish I make, it's always a hit. Seriously, my family tears into a platter of this stuff like werewolves on a veal farm.

I decided to create this for myself this week while enjoying an afternoon of football – and thought it was time to share it here.

Eat well, cook often ...